LONDON: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak presented a defiant front in Parliament on Wednesday after winning a crunch vote on the controversial Rwanda Safety Bill, even as the Opposition accused his government of being in “meltdown”.
Addressing the last Prime Minister’s Questions session in the House of Commons before Christmas recess, Sunak claimed that while the Conservatives remained focussed on cracking down on illegal migration the Labour Party was distracted by political “tittle tattle”, alluding to reports of divisions within the Tory ranks.
“The British people should decide who gets to come to this country not criminal gangs or foreign courts. That’s what this bill delivers. We will now work to make it law so that we can get flights going to Rwanda and stop the boats,” said Sunak.
Labour Leader Keir Starmer accused the British Indian leader of “kicking the can down the road” after his Rwanda bill passed 313 to 269, with a majority of 44 votes, on Tuesday night in its first parliamentary stage. But with around 38 Conservative MPs recorded as not taking part in the vote, it is widely expected that the controversial Rwanda bill aimed at deporting illegal migrants to the east African nation will reignite the deep Tory divisions over the issue.